Small Claims Court in BC

A legal dispute is sometimes unavoidable, however, depending on the type of dispute and the amount being sought in your claim, you may be able to avoid pursuing your claim through the BC Supreme Court and file in Small Claims.

What is Small Claims?

Small Claims court is a division of the Provincial Court of British Columbia. It is designed to resolve lower-value disputes, quickly and efficiently. Matters are heard by judges, and the procedures and forms are often more straightforward than those in the Supreme Court.

How much can you sue for?

Small Claims involves monetary claims of $5,001 to $35,000. If your claim is for less than $5,000, it falls under the jurisdiction of the Civil Resolution Tribunal,

If your claim exceeds $35,000, you may:

This choice on whether to pursue the full amount in Supreme Court or abandon the excess and stick with small claims will depend on how important it is to recover the full amount versus obtaining a faster, less expensive resolution.

Types of Cases

Small claims court can handle the following types of civil disputes:

Small claims court cannot hear or resolve the following:

Small Claims Process

Like the Supreme Court, a claim through Small Claims is commenced by filing a Notice of Claim. In the Claim, you identify the parties involved, the events leading up to your claim, and specify the amount you are claiming and why. Once your claim has been filed at the appropriate court registry, you must serve the claim on the other party. They then have a set period to file their response.

Once a response is filed, a mandatory settlement conference takes place. A settlement conference is before a judge and is considered “without prejudice.” At the settlement conference, a judge reviews the claim and helps the parties determine if there is a way for early settlement to be found. If the parties are unable to reach an agreeable settlement, the matter will proceed to trial.

If you are successful at trial, a judge will make an order for how much the other party owes you. If the other party refuses to pay pursuant to the order, you can take enforcement actions such as:

This information is general in nature only. You should consult a lawyer before acting on any of this information. This information should not be considered as legal advice. To learn more about your legal needs, please contact our office at (250)448-2637 or any of our lawyers practicing in the area of civil litigation.